In the continuing quest to
qualify the different TV networks in terms of media
effectiveness, it is

The main
conclusion I've drawn from these findings is that the broadcast
networks do not stand apart from the cable networks in terms of
holding their program audiences through the commercial.

prudent to consider all
available measures, so as to triangulate the problem from as many angles
as possible. One of the measures is commercial audience retention: the
percentage of the program audience that stays tuned through the average
commercial on each network. This is of course a reflection of the degree
to which each network’s audience tends to channel-switch. That in turn
is a combination of two things: the types of people that generally view
that network and the likelihood of the programs on that network to hold
viewers back from switching away once they have switched in.

The data in the accompanying table
are some of the first of their kind to reach industry eyes. As digital
set-tops and other forms of Interactive TV (ITV) roll out, we will be
seeing more of such data since ITV in all its forms will make practical
the collection of clickstream data for TV. Whereas Nielsen meters are
accurate down to half minutes, clickstream data can be accurate down to
milliseconds, and therefore are more useful for analyses of this type.

We
also observe that the music video channels tend to cluster at the low
end of this spectrum. This is logical in that their programming can be
enjoyed in small doses; one does not need to wait very long to see a
plot resolve, for example. As mentioned, media planners ought to look at
all measures, not just this one. For example, the high standing of
Cartoon Network in this measure might well be offset by some other
measure, such as attention or roomspeculation, while these retention
data are empirical. The sample size of about 500 homes across a month is
higher than the average Nielsen meter sample size in local markets and
each network’s percentage is an average across at least 100 spot
airing observations. The data show reasonable stability when broken out
by top advertisers. For detailed data feel free to contact me via
e-mail.

Bill
Harvey is chairman-CEO of Next Century Media and a regular columnist to The Myers
Report. He can be reached
via e-mail at info@nextcenturymedia.com .